Picnic at Asgard
by ninakinsmn
Summary: When the Doctor first met River Song and she was trying to figure out where they were at in their timey-wimey relationship, she mentioned a picnic at Asgard. According to my head canon, the Doctor meets River on multiple occasions between "Forest of the Dead" and "Time of Angels", including several occasions before he regenerated into Eleven. This is my first fanfic.


"Hello, Sweetie."

River Song grinned as she approached the slim man in the tight suit and trainers as he exited his TARDIS. She had been looking forward to meeting this younger version of the Doctor ever since she had first seen his picture, which really didn't do him justice. He was so...pretty. This was going to be a wonderful day and, unlike when she had met some of the even younger (though older-looking) incarnations of him, she knew she could allow this one to remember her because his future self had once let it slip that he had first met her in this incarnation. She would make certain that this would be a day he would never forget.

"Professor Song, how did you get Gutenberg to put that in there? Don't you realize that by doing so you ruined a copy of one of the rarest books on Earth?"

He was so adorable when he was outraged. This was going to be fun, though she was slightly disappointed that he had already met her and far into her own future at that. They would never let her become a professor while she remained locked up in the Stormcage. It was nice to know she would be pardoned eventually, though.

"Johannes fancied me and would have printed just about anything I asked him to. That particular copy is actually considered to be more valuable because it is so unique. Archeologists have been puzzling over it for centuries. I've read the dissertations. None of them have even come close to figuring it out. And you're a fine one to talk about defacing cultural treasures. I know all about what's hidden beneath the paint on the Mona Lisa and the Rewolgans are still miffed at you over what you did to their main temple."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "There was a Rutan hiding in that temple. It would have summoned an invasion fleet if I hadn't stopped it and if you know so much about the incident with the Mona Lisa, you should also know why I did it, which was much more important than sending me a cryptic message about a picnic. I hope you have a very good reason for asking me to come here. How did you get here anyway?"

River extended her hand to show him the vortex manipulator strapped to her wrist, half-hoping that he would take her hand and kiss it as his older self usually did. No such luck. He just looked even more irked. "You weren't answering your phone and I knew you wouldn't want to miss this. I'll explain why I asked you to come here, but could we have a bite to eat first?" She gestured to the picnic basket she had placed on a blanket just before he arrived.

The Doctor was having a hard time containing his emotions. The last time he had seen River Song, he had watched helplessly as she sacrificed her life for him, without telling him who she was or how she knew his name. Yet the woman standing in front of him was very much alive and even more beautiful than he remembered. He wasn't certain whether it was the knowledge of how important she was apparently destined to become for him or whether it was the fact that the low-cut black tunic and tight trousers she was wearing accentuated her every curve, but being near her was making him intensely uncomfortable. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way around anyone. Humans didn't normally affect him this way, no matter what they wore. Not even Rose, at least not at first. Perhaps River wasn't human? How many people could translate "Hello, sweetie. Care for a picnic?" into Middle High Gallifreyan and give such detailed space-time coordinates after all? That thought was very discomfiting as well.

"Who are you?"

River kneeled on the blanket and pulled a banana out of the basket, pointing it at him as though it were a weapon. When he only stared at her quizzically, she smiled ruefully and tossed it to him.

"Spoilers. You're not old enough to know yet. Have a seat, pretty boy." She patted the open space next to her on the blanket. "Unless you like the view better from up there." She raised an eyebrow suggestively and laughed inwardly at how quickly he sat down. Apparently he didn't like the implication that he was ogling her cleavage. She'd have to make sure he had lots of opportunities to look at it today.

"So where's your little blue book? Aren't you going to ask me where we are now?" He peeled the banana and took a bite. Did she know it was his favorite fruit or was it just a lucky coincidence?

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea of where we are. Very early days for you, yes?" He watched as she took a container of what looked like fish fingers out of the basket, dipped one into what looked like custard, and took a bite out of it. An unusual choice for a picnic lunch. She held the container out to him. He shook his head to decline. He didn't think he'd ever be able to stomach that particular combination.

"Have we done the Byzantium yet?" the Doctor asked, remembering one of the encounters she had mentioned when he first met her in the Library.

River decided to be honest for a change. "No, I haven't, but I'm sure that it will be exciting and involve a lot of running. Never a dull moment when you're around." She handed him a sandwich and a packet of jelly babies. They ate in silence for a few minutes, stealing glances at each other while the other was looking away.

The Doctor studied River's profile as she took a fish finger, dipped it into the custard, and licked it. She was having a dangerous impact on his equilibrium. He finished off the last of his sandwich and stood up. He couldn't take much more of this.

"I assume we're going to get to the point soon. I'm late for a meeting with Suleiman the Magnificent. He thinks the Habsburgs are in league with the devil and he may not be too far off the mark."

River smiled and began putting the empty containers back into the basket, making certain to lean over as much as possible. "Tell me, Doctor. How much do you know about Norse mythology?"

"I met Snorri Sturluson once. I'm afraid he was thinking of me when he wrote some of the bits about Loki. Not sure where he came up with the stuff about the horse though. Poetic license, I suppose."

She laughed. "And here I thought it was only the good wizards in stories that would turn out to be you. I should have known. Well, what would you say if I were to tell you that, on the other side of that wall, there is a palace owned by a one-eyed man with a foul-tempered son who likes to threaten people with his hammer and that, if you spend enough time under this tree, you will likely see a young woman on a horse flying overhead carrying a dead man?"

He grinned. At last, something he felt comfortable with. "I would say allons-y, Professor Song."

"Somehow, I thought you might."


End file.
